Robtober 2018
A month’s worth of movies to help you stay awake
Every October, I put together a big schedule of horror films, most of which I haven’t seen before. Films, dates, and times (all subject to change) are listed for any friends who want to join me, and ticket links are included for public screenings. The schedule is also available as a handy Google calendar and as a Letterboxd list.
This year, Michael Myers’ imminent return to the big screen has inspired me to binge my way through the original Halloween series (much of which I’ll be seeing for the first time). I’m also filling in all but a few of my remaining holes in TimeOut’s 100 Best Horror Films. And of course I’ll be taking advantage of numerous theatrical screenings around NYC, a full roundup of which can be found beneath the schedule. Hope you have a horrific month!
Hold the Dark
After the deaths of three children suspected to be killed by wolves, writer Russell Core is hired by the mother of a missing six-year-old boy to track down and locate her son in the Alaskan wilderness.
Mandy
The enchanted lives of a couple in a secluded forest are brutally shattered by a nightmarish hippie cult and their demon-biker henchmen, propelling a man into a spiraling, surreal rampage of vengeance.
Kwaidan
A collection of four Japanese folk tales with supernatural themes.
The Unknown
A criminal on the run hides in a circus and seeks to possess the daughter of the ringmaster at any cost.
Santa Sangre
A former circus artist escapes from a mental hospital to rejoin his armless mother – the leader of a strange religious cult – and is forced to enact brutal murders in her name as he becomes “her arms.”
The Stepford Wives
Joanna Eberhart has come to the quaint little town of Stepford, Connecticut with her family, but soon discovers there lies a sinister truth in the all too perfect behavior of the female residents.
Rodents of Unusual Size
A story about giant swamp rats invading coastal Louisiana and the defiant people on the edge of the world, who are defending their communities, culture, and livelihoods from the onslaught of this curious and unexpected invasive species.
Halloween
Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.
Halloween II
While Dr. Loomis hunts for Michael Myers, a traumatized Laurie is rushed to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital, and The Shape is not far behind her.
Halloween IV: The Return of Michael Myers
Ten years after his original massacre, the invalid Michael Myers awakens on Halloween Eve and returns to Haddonfield to kill his seven-year-old niece. Can Dr. Loomis stop him?
Halloween V: The Revenge of Michael Myers
One year after the events of Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988), the Shape returns to Haddonfield once again in an attempt to kill his now-mute niece.
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers
Six years after Michael Myers last terrorized Haddonfield, he returns there in pursuit of his niece, Jamie Lloyd, who has escaped with her newborn child, for which Michael and a mysterious cult have sinister plans.
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
Laurie Strode, now the dean of a Northern California private school with an assumed name, must battle the Shape one last time, as the life of her own son hangs in the balance.
Halloween: Resurrection
Three years after he last terrorized his sister, Michael Myers confronts her again, before traveling to Haddonfield to deal with the cast and crew of a reality show which is being broadcast from his old home.
Hour of the Wolf
While vacationing on a remote German island with his younger pregnant wife, an artist has an emotional breakdown while confronting his repressed desires.
Apostle
In 1905, a drifter on a dangerous mission to rescue his kidnapped sister tangles with a sinister religious cult on an isolated island.
Halloween
Laurie Strode confronts her long-time foe, Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.
Trog
A sympathetic anthropologist uses drugs and surgery to try to communicate with a primitive troglodyte who is found living in a local cave.
God Told Me To
A New York detective investigates a series of murders committed by random New Yorkers who claim that “God told them to.”
The Iron Rose
A young couple out for a walk decide to take a stroll through a large cemetery. As darkness begins to fall they realize they can't find their way out, and soon their fears begin to overtake them.
The Grapes of Death
A young woman discovers that the pesticide being sprayed on vineyards is turning people into killer zombies.
Ms .45
A timid and mute seamstress goes insane after being attacked and raped twice in one day, in which she takes to the streets of New York City after dark and randomly shoots men with a .45 caliber pistol.
Revenge
Never take your mistress on an annual guys’ getaway, especially one devoted to hunting – a violent lesson for three wealthy married men.
Dead Ringers
Twin gynecologists take full advantage of the fact that nobody can tell them apart, until their relationship begins to deteriorate over a woman.
The Black Cat
American honeymooners in Hungary become trapped in the home of a Satan-worshipping priest when the bride is taken there for medical help following a road accident.
Night of the Demon
American professor John Holden arrives in London for a parapsychology conference, only to find himself investigating the mysterious actions of Devil-worshipper Julian Karswell.
Tremors
Natives of a small isolated town defend themselves against strange underground creatures which are killing them one by one.
The Howling
After a bizarre and near deadly encounter with a serial killer, a television newswoman is sent to a remote mountain resort whose residents may not be what they seem.
28 Weeks Later
Six months after the rage virus was inflicted on the population of Great Britain, the US Army helps to secure a small area of London for the survivors to repopulate and start again. But not everything goes according to plan.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
A psychiatrist, familiar with knife-wielding dream demon, Freddy Krueger, helps teens at a mental hospital battle the killer who is invading their dreams.
Halloween IV: The Return of Michael Myers
Ten years after his original massacre, the invalid Michael Myers awakens on Halloween Eve and returns to Haddonfield to kill his seven-year-old niece. Can Dr. Loomis stop him?
Jigoku
A group of sinners involved in interconnected tales of murder, revenge, deceit and adultery all meet at the Gates of Hell.
The Devils
In 17th-century France, Father Urbain Grandier’s protection of the city of Loudun from the corrupt Cardinal Richelieu is undermined by a sexually repressed nun’s accusation of witchcraft.
Frankenstein
Dr Henry Frankenstein is obsessed with assembling a living being from parts of several exhumed corpses.
More horror happenings in NYC
From trashy genre flicks to oblique arthouse gems to spooky family fun, New York’s cinemas have something for everyone this month.
Alamo Drafthouse
- Dismember the Alamo: “This Alamo Drafthouse tradition is a four-film mystery horror movie marathon that delivers 1001% fun directly to your degenerate soul.”
- Haute Horror: “Ranging from genre deconstructions to biting satires to just plain great frights, this month-long series is a reminder that some of the best and most beautiful works of art can come from the darkest of horrors.”
- Terror Tuesday: “This eclectic series spans all centuries, covering everything from seminal horror treasures to undiscovered D.I.Y. monster-blasts.”
- Video Vortex: “Ultra-obscure, ultra-bizarre movies from the fringes of the universe. And beyond.”
- Weird Wednesday: “A one-way ticket to the edges of reality where imagination and commercial excess dance on the graves of common sense and decency.”
BAM
- Ghosts and Monsters: Postwar Japanese Horror: “Fantastical, otherworldly, and wildly unique, these tales of rampaging beasts and supernatural terror are triumphs of cinematic imagination.”
Metrograph
- Yamamoto’s Bloodthirsty Trilogy: “These are strange and stylish movies, vibrating with unsettling atmosphere—and if you let just one put the first bite on you, you’ll undoubtedly be addicted.”
- Shaw Brothers Horror: “In our snooty era of highbrow, elevated horror, these are refreshingly low road movies that get down and dirty, squelching in the psychic muck of primal fear and revulsion.”
MoMA
- Modern Matinees: Vincent Price: “This wide-ranging look at the career of Vincent Price is drawn mainly from MoMA’s collection.”
Nitehawk Cinema
- A Nite to Dismember: “Starting at midnight and continuing past dawn, we’ll be screening five devilishly delicious films about possession, demons and cults.”
- Monster Mash: “There’s vampires and mummies, cat people and flies, classic and cult, films for families and for those grown up undead kids.”
- Midnite Movies: “Spanning all of our series, here’s all of Nitehawk’s midnite screenings located in one convenient place.”
- New Horror: “Like their predecessors, these films tackle class, gender identity, and race in way that shows us both where we are and how far we, perhaps, haven’t come.”
Quad Cinema
- Très Outré: The Sinister Visions of Jean Rollin: “His dreamlike, seductive visuals and haunting milieus have surely influenced subsequent filmmakers who favor horror that’s as serious as it is sensual.”
- Victoria Price presents: Vincent Price × 3: “Victoria will be on hand for our special evening to celebrate her father’s work with a trio of his top performances in the horror genre.”
- A Woman’s Bite: Cinema’s Sapphic Vampires: “Although the titillating concept of lady bloodsuckers had long captured the imagination of authors, it wasn’t until the 1960s and 1970s that the movies caught on as European helmers finally recognized the storytelling potential for women driving their own narratives as princesses of darkness.”
Various Locations
- Brooklyn Horror Film Festival: “The Brooklyn Horror Film Festival is a premier east coast genre festival that embodies the spirit of Brooklyn. Taking place in venues throughout the borough, we showcase the best new independent films, throw parties, host events, and more.”